Inside Higher Ed | Quick Takeshttps://www.insidehighered.com/feed/atom/quicktakes
enAnger Over Plan to Move Music College's Campushttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/anger-over-plan-move-music-colleges-campus
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__291971 img__view_mode__default attr__format__default attr__field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]__ attr__field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]__ attr__field_image_tags[und]__ attr__field_folder[und]__1026" src="https://www.insidehighered.com/sites/default/server_files/media/488394_526574174055301_1250480377_n.jpeg" style="width: 294px; height: 152px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" />Students and alumni of Westminster Choir College, a small music college in Princeton, N.J., are <a href="https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-unification-of-the-westminster-choir-college-campus-and-the-rider-campus" target="_blank">rallying against a plan</a> being considered by Rider University, of which the college is a part, to shut down the separate campus of Westminster and have its programs relocate to Rider&#39;s main campus. Rider officials have stressed that no final decision has been made, but that financial challenges facing the university require it to find savings. But supporters of Westminster say that its sense of community and purpose would be eroded without its campus.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:25:00 +0000Scott Jaschik179976 at https://www.insidehighered.comWisconsin Board Approves Posttenure Changehttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/wisconsin-board-approves-posttenure-change
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2016/12/08/nonresident-tuition-uw-schools-going-up/95145354/" target="_blank">Over faculty objections</a>, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on Thursday approved change in posttenure review policies that will give administrators the final decision and the right to make their own independent reviews of tenured faculty members, <em><a href="http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2016/12/08/nonresident-tuition-uw-schools-going-up/95145354/" target="_blank">The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</a></em> reported. Faculty groups have long argued that for posttenure reviews to remain consistent with the job security provided by tenure, the reviews must be conducted by professors. The latest decision has added to the distrust of many professors in the Wisconsin board.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/administrators" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">administrators</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/ad-keywords/faculty" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">faculty</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 09:19:00 +0000Scott Jaschik179971 at https://www.insidehighered.comSaudi Student Numbers Fall by Nearly 20 Percenthttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/saudi-student-numbers-fall-nearly-20-percent
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The number of students from Saudi Arabia in the U.S. on student visas fell by 19.9&nbsp;percent from November&nbsp;2015 to November&nbsp;2016, according to <a href="https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/byTheNumbersDec2016.pdf" target="_blank">new data on student visas</a> from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Many U.S. universities and intensive English programs have <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/07/18/saudi-student-numbers-fall-many-campuses" target="_blank">reported declines</a> in admissions and enrollments of new students from Saudi Arabia -- a key country in many institutions&#39; international recruiting efforts -- that they have attributed to changes in that country&rsquo;s government scholarship program.</p>
<p>The data on student visas, released quarterly by the U.S. government, are distinct from <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/11/14/annual-open-doors-report-documents-continued-growth-international-students-us-and-us" target="_blank">annual survey data</a> on international enrollments compiled by the Institute of International Education. Despite the drop in the number of Saudi students, the Homeland Security data show that the overall number of international students on F or M visas -- for academic or vocational study -- increased 2.9&nbsp;percent from November&nbsp;2015 to November&nbsp;2016, to an all-time high of 1.23&nbsp;million. An additional 198,217 foreign nationals are in the U.S. on J-1 exchange visas, a decrease of 1.8&nbsp;percent from last fall. A breakdown of some country-by-country trends for Asia, the top region of origin for international students in the U.S., is below.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/server_files/images/sevp_asia.jpg" style="width: 700px; height: 541px;" /></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/international" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">international</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Elizabeth Redden179901 at https://www.insidehighered.comBarnard's Different Approach to Divestmenthttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/barnards-different-approach-divestment
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>A minority of colleges have in recent years opted to bar their endowments from holding investments in either the fossil fuel industry generally or specific parts of the industry (such as coal). Barnard College on Thursday <a href="https://www.barnard.edu/news/barnard-presidential-task-force-recommends-divestment-companies-deny-climate-science" target="_blank">announced</a> a different approach: a committee of trustees, professors and students has recommended that the college sell holdings in &quot;all fossil fuel companies that deny climate science or otherwise seek to thwart efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.&quot; The Barnard board&#39;s investment committee said that, pending a review, it expected to recommend adoption of the policy by the full board.</p>
<p>A statement from the college explained the approach this way: &quot;The recommendation to divest from climate change deniers would align the college&rsquo;s investments with its core mission, centered on academic freedom and scientific integrity. This will enable the college to distinguish between companies based on their behavior and willingness to transition to a cleaner economy and could create incentives for the poorest performers to change their ways.&quot;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/administrators" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">administrators</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/ad-keywords/institutionalfinance" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">institutionalfinance</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Scott Jaschik179936 at https://www.insidehighered.comCalls to Strengthen Ideological Education in Chinahttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/calls-strengthen-ideological-education-china
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Chinese President Xi Jinping called for strengthening ideological and political education in universities and charged Communist Party of China officials with prioritizing their work in this area, according to an account of a speech he gave at a two-day meeting on &ldquo;ideological and political work in China&#39;s universities and colleges&rdquo; <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2016-12/09/c_135891337.htm" target="_blank">published in the state-run media outlet <em>Xinhua</em></a>.</p>
<p>&ldquo;China&#39;s higher education institutions are under the leadership of the CPC and are socialist colleges with Chinese characteristics, so higher education must be guided by Marxism, and the party&#39;s policies in education must be fully carried out,&rdquo; Xi is quoted as saying.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/international" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">international</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Elizabeth Redden179876 at https://www.insidehighered.comElsevier Launches 'Impact Factor' Competitorhttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/elsevier-launches-impact-factor-competitor
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Elsevier on Thursday issued a challenge to companies that track the impact of scholarly journals with the launch of CiteScore, the publisher&#39;s own set of metrics. In a <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/editors-update/story/journal-metrics/citescore-a-new-metric-to-help-you-choose-the-right-journal" target="_blank">blog post</a>, Elsevier called CiteScore &quot;a new standard that gives a more comprehensive, transparent and current view of a journal&rsquo;s impact that will help [the publisher] guide your journal more effectively in the future.&quot; The metrics cover the more than 22,500 scholarly journals indexed in Scopus, the citation database Elsevier owns.</p>
<p>Metrics gauging the impact of journals the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/11/05/editorial-says-journal-impact-factors-have-lost-credibility" target="_blank">have been controversial</a> among some researchers and publishers, who have said the emphasis on ranking journals negatively affects faculty members and journals themselves. <em>Nature</em>, which did an <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/controversial-impact-factor-gets-a-heavyweight-rival-1.21131" target="_blank">early comparison</a> between CiteScore and the impact factor calculated by Clarivate Analytics (formerly by Thomson Reuters), found that journals with a high impact factor don&#39;t necessarily score as high using the CiteScore metrics.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Carl Straumsheim179921 at https://www.insidehighered.comWinthrop Criticized for Reaction to Protest Arthttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/winthrop-criticized-reaction-protest-art
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><img alt="" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__291806 img__view_mode__default attr__format__default attr__field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]__ attr__field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]__ attr__field_image_tags[und]__ attr__field_folder[und]__1026" src="https://www.insidehighered.com/sites/default/server_files/media/Tillman.jpg" style="width: 305px; height: 406px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image" />The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the National Coalition Against Censorship have written <a href="https://www.thefire.org/fire-letter-to-winthrop-university-december-8-2016/" target="_blank">a joint letter</a> to Winthrop University urging that the institution drop disciplinary charges against a student, Samantha Valdez, who participated in creating an art exhibit that was an act of protest over the university maintaining the name Tillman Hall on a campus building. The hall in named for Benjamin Tillman, a 19th-century governor of South Carolina known for his support of racism and lynchings. Valdez and others created an art display, &quot;Tillman&#39;s Legacy,&quot; in which black objects were put on trees outside Tillman Hall. The objects represented some of the lives Tillman was responsible for taking and the people he terrorized. The university said that the artists had no right to set up the display and that doing so was disruptive. But the letter says that the art was a form of protest protected by the First Amendment.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Scott Jaschik179951 at https://www.insidehighered.comLIU Faculty Contract Negotiations Stall Againhttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/liu-faculty-contract-negotiations-stall-again
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Contract negotiations between Long Island University and its faculty union are again stalled, just three months after the parties came to a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/15/union-announces-end-faculty-lockout-long-island-u" target="_blank">temporary agreement that ended a 12-day faculty lockout</a>. The faculty union affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers said in a statement Thursday that compulsory mediation was terminated after several rounds of talks, due to administrators&rsquo; failure &ldquo;to meaningfully engage with faculty on the terms of a new labor contract.&rdquo; The current contract runs through May of next year, and sticking points going forward include a management proposal that would cut pay for new adjunct faculty hires by up to 30&nbsp;percent, according to information from the union. It said that student learning remains &ldquo;at risk.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The university challenged the union account, however. Gale Haynes, vice president of academic affairs at the Brooklyn campus and chief operating officer, said the union&rsquo;s statements &ldquo;do not accurately reflect&rdquo; the course of negotiations and that the university wanted to move forward. The university was &ldquo;extremely disappointed to learn of [the union&rsquo;s] decision not to continue with the mediation process. We remain available, willing and eager to negotiate and urge the faculty union leadership to return to the bargaining table as soon as possible and to engage in good faith bargaining.&rdquo;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/administrators" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">administrators</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/ad-keywords/diversity" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">diversity</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/teachinglearning" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">teachinglearning</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Colleen Flaherty179891 at https://www.insidehighered.comOCR Receives Record Number of Complaintshttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/ocr-receives-record-number-complaints
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The number of complaints filed last year with the U.S. Department of Education&#39;s Office for Civil Rights soared to a record 16,720, <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/ocr/report-to-president-and-secretary-of-education-2016.pdf?utm_content=&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_name=&amp;utm_source=govdelivery&amp;utm_term=" target="_blank">according to a report the department released</a> Thursday. The number of complaints was a 61&nbsp;percent increase over the previous year&#39;s total.</p>
<p>By far, the largest increase has been in reports of sexual violence on college campuses. Since 2011, when the department released a Dear Colleague letter urging institutions to more rigorously investigate and adjudicate reports of sexual assault, the number of complaints related to campus sexual violence has increased by 831&nbsp;percent. The increase in complaints, the department said, has also been notable in other areas, including restraint and seclusion of students with disabilities (a 100&nbsp;percent increase), web accessibly for persons with disabilities (511&nbsp;percent), and harassment on the basis of race, color or national origin (17&nbsp;percent).</p>
<p>From 2009 to 2016, the Office for Civil Rights received 76,022 cases and resolved 66,102 of them.</p>
<p>&quot;Over the last eight years, one of the Obama administration&rsquo;s highest priorities has been to protect the access of all students to a world-class education,&quot; the department stated. &quot;As a result, the department and OCR have seen significant progress in increasing educational equity nationwide and reducing discriminatory barriers that students face.&quot;</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-ad-keywords field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Ad keywords:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/ad-keywords/administrators" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">administrators</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Jake New179851 at https://www.insidehighered.comBill Would Require Transcripts to Note Violation of Sexual Assault Policieshttps://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/12/09/bill-would-require-transcripts-note-violation-sexual-assault-policies
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Congresswoman Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, <a href="https://speier.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-jackie-speier-introduces-bill-requiring-transcript" target="_blank">introduced a bill</a> Thursday that would require academic transcripts to show that a student has violated campus policies involving sexual violence.</p>
<p>Speier said colleges and universities currently have no way of knowing if a student transferring to their campus has committed a sexual assault at a previous school.</p>
<p>&quot;My bill will ensure that students who try to transfer schools to avoid the consequences of their violent acts will, at a minimum, face the same consequences as students who transfer because they&rsquo;ve cheated on an exam,&quot; she said in a statement.</p>
<p>Speier&#39;s bill, called the Safe Transfer Act, would clarify FERPA laws to allow such disclosures and set the disclosure requirement to sunset five years after school disciplinary proceedings are completed or year after a pending disciplinary proceeding is initiated. The bill would also require that an alleged perpetrator be notified of the disclosure and be allowed to write a statement accompanying the disclosure.</p>
<p>The congresswoman has been outspoken on issues of sexual assault on campus. In September, <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2016/09/14/congresswoman-proposes-ed-department-offer-loan-assistance-sexual-assault" target="_blank">she urged</a> the Department of Education&#39;s Office for Civil Rights to work with the Office of Federal Student Aid to provide loan assistance to victims of sexual assault. Speier has also <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/01/13/politician-proposes-law-prevent-harassers-being-passed-one-institution-another" target="_blank">proposed</a> that colleges and universities be required to release investigations into alleged sexual harassment by faculty and staff members as well as students.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-diversity-newsletter field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Is this diversity newsletter?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-hide-by-line- field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Hide by line?:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"></div></div></div>Fri, 09 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000Andrew Kreighbaum179926 at https://www.insidehighered.com